Peter’s Peril: New England Cottontail Facing Extinction

Despite the rain, Easter was a smashing success at the Turley house including a soggy but fun neighborhood Easter Egg hunt around our house. Environmentalists however are hoping that these good feelings could translate into some support to save the erstwhile mascot of the holiday: the New England cottontail. The rabbit species faces potential extinction because its needed scrub land is being eradicated by many of those same Easter-loving humans.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has partnered with state agencies and private organizations from Maine to New York to restore the natural habitat of the New England cottontail.

When Massachusetts author Thornton Burgess wrote “The Adventures of Peter Cottontail,” the rabbits were common and plentiful in New England. However, in just the last 50 years, more than 80 percent of their habitat has disappeared. It is not only the cottontail that has suffered of course. However, environmentalists are hoping that runaway development can be curbed before Easter is represented by a symbol of man’s folly and damage to the environment around him. At that point, the entire species will be a myth.

Source: Wall Street Journal